PKO Leasing Report: Entrepreneurs are opening up to electric cars

Entrepreneurs in Poland are positively about electromobility – already 20% of representatives of the SME sector are considering building a fleet of vehicles based on plug-in hybrids or electric cars.

• Entrepreneurs do not want to buy them for cash – over 90% declare their willingness to finance “green” vehicles in the lease or long-term rental.
• The pace of electrification of transport in Poland depends largely on the involvement of leasing companies and CFM.
• These are the main conclusions of the report “Car fleets as the key to electromobility” prepared by PKO Leasing in cooperation with Masterlease and the Polish Alternative Fuels Association.

The “Car fleet as the key to electromobility” Report is a summary of the state and development of the electric car market in Poland. The study also contains study results on the SME approach to electromobility done by PKO Bank Polski and PKO Leasing.

„It is no coincidence that we place such a strong emphasis on the opinions of entrepreneurs. They are the driving force behind the development of electromobility in Poland. In 2020, they registered as much as 85% of new electric cars, and one-fifth of the company owners we interviewed are considering including plug-in hybrids (PHEV) or fully electric vehicles (BEV) in their fleet despite the obvious barriers, such as insufficient charging infrastructure or the lack of effective system support. Importantly, entrepreneurs declaring their interest in ecological fleets also send a clear signal to the leasing industry and CFM. The vast majority of them want to finance electric vehicles with leasing, and more and more often also in the long-term rental. As an industry, we must be aware that with an offer tailored to the needs of entrepreneurs, we can accelerate the development of electromobility in Poland” said Paweł Pach, CEO at PKO Leasing. 

SMES LONG ROAD TO ELECTROMOBILITY

Currently, only 2% of the surveyed SMEs declare the use of fully electric cars (5% in medium-sized enterprises), 3% of fleets are driven by plug-in hybrids, and every tenth entrepreneur has a classic hybrid. Internal combustion cars dominate and can be found in almost all companies. These proportions will not change quickly, but entrepreneurs declare increasing interest in electromobility. Especially those who already drive electricians – 28% of plug-in hybrid owners and 26% of fully electric cars declare the purchase of another car with the same drive within the next 12 months. In turn, 21 and 20% of all entrepreneurs do not exclude the inclusion of PHEV and BEV cars in the company’s fleet, respectively.

What is preventing SME from choosing an electric car? Among the barriers, entrepreneurs mention, insufficient charging infrastructure, high purchase costs, short battery life and long charging time, lack of support programs tailored to the needs.

Paweł Pach stated that: „The concerns seem understandable at first, but it is worth confronting them with the experiences of entrepreneurs that have electric cars in their fleet. It turns out that the reality is different from the common knowledge. This is best seen in the example of operating costs. Enterprises with electric vehicles in their fleet in 81% assess the costs of their maintenance as lower compared to internal combustion or classic hybrid cars. Meanwhile, in the perception of other entrepreneurs, these costs are wrongly considered higher (23% of responses) or the same (44%)”. 

The most frequently indicated incentives for the development of the electric fleet by SMEs include subsidies and supplements (over 75%), monthly fees comparable to internal combustion cars (64%), and facilitating city traffic (60%).

„Electric vehicles in company fleet can bring many financial, operational, and image benefits. Thanks to the implementation of subsidies from public funds, the total cost of owning electric cars may turn out to be lower than that of internal combustion cars within one year of starting operation. What’s more, thanks to numerous privileges, such as the right to free parking, use bus lanes, or entry to clean transport zones that will soon appear in Polish cities, electric vehicles can significantly improve the performance of everyday tasks by the company’s fleet” – said Maciej Mazur, Chief Executive Officer – Managing Director at Polish Alternative Fuels Association. 

LONG-TERM RENTAL IS GAINING IMPORTANCE IN THE ELECTRIC VEHICLE SEGMENT

The most frequently indicated form of financing the current and planned fleet of vehicles by SMEs is leasing. Fewer and fewer companies want to finance the fleet with cash. In the electric car segment, however, the importance of long-term rental is growing. 76% of entrepreneurs interested in plug-in hybrids want to finance them through leasing, and 21% in long-term rental. In the case of fully electric cars, it is 79 and 18%, respectively.

Source: PKO Leasing’s press release from June 21, 2021